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- Frances McMullan and Andrew Hellenga were appointed permanent city manager and city clerk at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
- Vicki Reaume and Walter Kraft spoke to the city council on how Eastern Michigan University has been doing this last academic year.
- All resolutions introduced passed 6-0, focusing on Washtenaw Regional Resource Management Authority, 2017 Assisting Firefighters grant amendment, A Memorandum of Understanding between Hope Growing and the Depot Town Farmers Market and the approval of the Community and Economic Development Department to submit for a grant application.
YPSILANTI -- The Ypsilanti City Council appointed Frances McMullan as city manager and Andrew Hellenga as city clerk at the city council meeting on April 2. This comes after previous City Manager Darwin McClary resigned following the hiring decision made for fire chief in early March.
McMullan served as interim city manager since March 7. This was her third time holding the title of interim.
“One of the best well-run departments in this city is the city clerk’s office,” Sam Jones-Darling, a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University, said during public comment. “And the two people who run that city clerk’s office are sitting right here.” Jones-Darling showed his support for McMullan because he believes she is qualified and knows “how the [Ypsilanti community] operates.”
The city manager and clerk were two of four positions that ran with interim officials. The other two being held by Interim Fire Chief Ken Hobbs and the director of public service held by Interim Director Bradford Holman.
The public supported Interim Fire Chief Hobbs at the City Council’s March 5 and 19 as well as additional support for Interim Director Holman. Hobbs was originally brought on as an interim to be a placeholder for Livonia Fire Captain Phil Kamm, who was selected over Hobbs by former City Manager McClary. There is no word yet on what is going to happen to this decision since McClary stepped down in early March.
Captain Kamm had signed a contract already prior to McClary’s resignation, according to MLive.
“I want to thank you all for allowing me to step into this position,” newly appointed City Manager McMullan said. “I have a love for Ypsilanti, I have a passion for what I do. We are a team, and I believe that you won’t be disappointed with what we do going forward.”
This meeting also included the passing of four resolutions on the agenda.
The first resolution approved the Articles of Incorporation of the Washtenaw Regional Resource Management Authority, including Ypsilanti in a countywide program to help with the collection of municipal solid waste, organics and recyclables.
The second resolution amended the 2017 Assistance to Firefighters Grant. This makes the City of Ypsilanti accept the 10 percent match to the grant and the writing fee applied to the grant. Hobbs spoke on the resolution.
The third resolution was a Memorandum of Understanding between Growing Hope and the City of Ypsilanti regarding the Depot Town Farmers Market. This Memorandum of understanding officially indicates that Growing Hope can continue to use the Freighthouse Plaza for its Saturday farmers market.
The final resolution approved the Community and Economic Development Department to submit for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality grant application. This would mean that if the city received the grant, the city would match the received money in the fiscal year 2020-2021 being $190,280.30. This would be used on completing realistic goals and introduce a new recycling program in the city.
The Ypsilanti City Council meets for its next scheduled meeting on Tuesday, April 16. To find the council’s agenda and minutes prior to the meetings, visit its agenda center online.
